Method and apparatus for winding yarn



Aug? M, 1966 D. c. FERRIER 3,266,741

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING YARN Filed April 16, 196 3 Sheets-$heecl I n u e n l o r flu/vo lv 6601520 ZZZ-BRIDE Aug. m, 1966 D. c. FERRIER3,266,743

METHQD AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING YARN Filed April 16, 1964 a Sheets$heet2 Attorney 5 Aug. 16, 1966 D. c. FERRIER 3,266,741

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING YARN Filed April 16, 1964 5Sheets-Sheet 3 I jttorncys United States Patent M 3,266,741 METHOD ANDAPPARATUS FOR WINDING YARN Duncan Cameron Ferrier, Llan-yr-Avon,Cwmbran, England, assignor to British Nylon Spinners Limited, Pontypool,England Filed Apr. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 360,303 Claims priority,application Great Britain, Apr. 20, 1963,

p 15,684/ 63 4 Claims. (Cl. 242-432) The present invention relates toimprovements in winding yarn onto a package and is particularly directedto yarn winding in which the yarn during winding onto a package istraversed across the package by means of grooved traverse rolls, and toapparatus therefor.

In the winding of yarn on revolving yarn packages, which are normallyperipherally driven to maintain uniform yarn speed, the yarn is rapidlytraversed across the package first in one direction and then reversedand traversed at the same speed in the opposite direction.

Such traversing is frequently effected by reciprocatory guides mountedon a traverse bar. At high winding speeds the traverse bar is, however,subjected to very high strains during the reversals of direction oftraverse which often result in the bar fracturing. Thus the speed atwhich a yarn can be wound onto a package is limited by the strainsimposed on the traverse bar.

Yarns may also be traversed by means of rotary guides which do notsuffer from the disadvantage of the aforementioned reciprocatory guides.

The rotary guides normally comprise a single rotatable cylindrical rollhaving an endless groove or grooves in thelongitudinal surface thereof.There are two main types of such rolls; a single groove roll in whichthe groove extends from one end of the roll to the other and back againwithout intersecting with itself, and a multigroove roll in which thereturn} portion of the groove is superimposed on the forward portion sothat there are one or more intersections of the two portions betweentheir ends. In both of these types of rolls the yarn is engaged in thegroove and is traversed to and fro longitudinally of the package as theroll rotates.

Each of the aforementioned rolls has certain disadvantages however. Inorder to wind a package of substantial length (e.g. more than threeinches) using a single groove roll the roll has to have a very largediameter and is excessively bulky. An equivalent multigroove roll ismuch smaller, being virtually a compressed form of the single grooveroll, and is therefore much more desirable as a piece of equipment.Difiiculties experienced with this type are related to the high tensionwhich has to be applied to the yarn in order to ensure that it remainsin the correct groove during traversing. The higher the speed thegreater is the applied tension required, thus speed of winding islimited by the tension since excessively high tensions are likely tocause permanent damage to the yarn. The need for this tension is broughtabout by the fact that in a yarn being traversed across a yarn packagethe portion of the yarn on either side of the groove, i.e. thoseportions of the yarn approaching and leaving the groove, lag behind theyarn lying in the groove. When the yarn being traversed encounters anintersection of the two grooves there is a tendency due to this lag, ifthe yarn tension is not sufliciently high, for the yarn to leave theoutwardly traversing branch of the groove and to return in the directionwhence it came rather than to complete the traversing movement. Mucheffort and inventive skill has been applied, over many years, to try andeliminate this tendency and thus allow increased winding speeds to beemployed.

An apparatus which is free from disadvantages of the 3,266,7dl PatentedAugust 16, 1966 single and multigroove rolls has been suggested forwinding yarn on conical packages. This apparatus comprises, incombination, two intergeared parallel rollers spaced a short distanceapart the yarn package being driven by one roller which has in theperiphery thereof a single helical groove which extends sufliciently togive the yarn the full length of traverse desired and turns back for ashort distance at both reversals and also in one direction of traversebetween such reversals. The other roller has a spiral groove in thesurface thereof which serves only to traverse the yarn between thereversals in the opposite direction of traverse.

For winding yarn on conical packages the grooves have a constantlyincreasing pitch from end to end of the rollers, both in the samedirection, to give the necessary accelerated traverse towards one end ofthe package.

In order to be traversed across the yarn package by these rollers theyarn is laid across both rollers and therefore is continuously inphysical contact with both rollers. When running in the groove of oneroller it passes over the peripheral surface, at an angle to thegrooves, of the other roller and vice-versa.

This particular apparatus as aforementioned, and in common with othergrooved rotary traverse rollers, requires that one of the rollersprovides the drive for the yarn package by being in close physicalcontact with the package. Whatever advantages this may have with regardto the laying of the yarn on the package it does have one particulardisadvantage. In the uniform winding of yarn on a package there is atendency for a defect known as pattern winding to occur, this is due tothe repeated laying of yarn on the same points on the package. In orderto prevent this pattern winding it is necessary to ensure that theharmony of motion of the yarn package and the driving roller is brokenat intervals. In practice yarn winding machines are frequently fittedwith devices for this purpose. Thus the yarn winding machine may beprovided with a retarding means capable of being brought intointermittent contact with the yarn package to cause variations in thespeed of the yarn package. Such methods for the prevention of patternwinding are undesirable since the effect on the speed of the yarnpackage is likely to be large and jerky and this then leads to markedvariations of tension in the yarn being wound onto the package, whichtension variations are likely to produce other undesirable defects at alater stage in the history of the yarn.

We have now found that in an improved method for winding yarn on apackage, particularly a cylindrical package to form what is known as acheese, the yarn is passed between two driven intergeared parallel,grooved rollers spaced apart from the yarn package which is separatelydriven. The two rollers are spaced a small distance apart and the yarnpassing therebetween is traversed across the package in one direction bythe groove in one roller and in the opposite direction by the groove inthe second roller. The yarn is in continuous contact with one rolleronly, being either in the groove contained in the surface of that rolleror running on the peripheral surface thereof.

Since the traversing rolls and the yarn package are separately driven,pattern winding can be readily avoided by making small smooth variationsin the speed of traversing keeping the winding speed constant.

The fact that in this method the yarn is passed between the rollersmeans that only a relatively small angle of wrap is required to maintainthe yarn in contact with one or both rollers and hence the tensioninduced in the yarn by frictional contact with the rollers is reducedand higher winding speeds can be obtained.

Accordingly therefore, the present invention provides a method forwinding a yarn onto a driven yarn package wherein the yarn duringwinding is traversed across the yarn package by grooves contained in theperipheral surfaces of two driven contra-rotating axially parallel rollsspaced apart from each other and from the yarn package, the groove inthe roll laying the yarn on the package at both reversals and in onedirection of traverse and the groove in the other roll laying the yarnon the package in the opposite direction of traverse only, the yarnpassing between the rolls in its path to yarn package and in contactwith the peripheral surface of the first mentioned roll whilst beingtraversed across the yarn by the groove in the second mentioned roll.

Preferably the yarn is laid initially on a roller driving the yarnpackage by frictional contact therewith and then offset directly ontothe said yarn package.

In general, the effectiveness of a yarn traverse mechanism is optimisedwhen the displacement of the point of lay of the yarn at the package isequal to the displacement of the yarn path at the traverse. This is,however, an ideal situation and in practice the closest approximation toit occurs when the effective length of yarn free path between thetraverse and the point of lay at the package is minimal. In the methodof traversing a yarn across a package described hereinbefore, advantageis taken of the high resistance of the drive roll to relative motionbetween the drive roll and the yarn in contact with it to reach a stateas near the ideal as possible. Thus for practical purposes in thismethod the effective length of yarn free path is the distance betweenthe traversing rolls and the point to which the yarn is laid onto thedrive roll, since from the drive roll the yarn is offset directly ontothe yarn package with negligible movement relative to the drive roll.

The invention also provides an apparatus for carrying out the winding ofa yarn onto a driven yam package. The apparatus comprises two driventraverse rolls which are rotated in opposed directions and which arespaced apart from each other and from a separately driven yarn package.One of the traversing rolls contains a single main helical groove ofconstant pitch in its peripheral surface and the groove is turned back ashort distance at each end to form the beginning and the end portions ofthe helical groove. The turned back portions of the groove are ofinsufi'icient length to intersect the main groove and the second of thetraversing rolls contains in its periphery a single helical groove inthe same sense and pitch as the main groove in the first mentioned roll.

Preferably the yarn package is peripherally driven by a fixed drivenroller, rotating in the direction of yarn travel, making frictionalcontact with the said yarn package, said roller being mounted in closerelationship to the traversing rolls and extending across the yarn pathto cause a yarn being traversed by the traversing rolls to make contactwith a portion of the surface thereof and to be laid thereupon beforebeing wound on to the yarn package.

The position of the yarn package driving roller in relation to thetraversing rolls and the yarn package is such that it constrains a yarnbeing traversed by the roll which reverses the direction of traverse tomove out of contact with the other traversing roll.

The helical groove in the traversing roll which reverses the directionof yarn traverse is preferably deeper than the groove in othertraversing roll.

In the most preferred form the helical groove in the traversing rollwhich reverses the direction of yarn traverse has a width of 0.020" to0.030" and has an expanded lead-in end portion. The other traversingroll has a portion around the circumference of the roll at the lead-inside machined to the depth of the groove, and the groove at the pointwhere it joins said machined portion is expanded to provide a lead-intip portion.

The width of the groove in the last mentioned roll is ,not critical andit may, for example, be as much as 0.375".

There will now be d scribed with reference to the accompanying drawingstwo embodiments of the apparatus and the method by which they are to beemployed according to this invention. This description is given merelyby way of illustration of the invention and is in no way intended to belimitative thereof.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of this inventionshowing the yarn path through the apparatus for each direction oftraverse;

FIGURE 2 is a development of the front and lower traversing roller ofFIGURE 1 which serves to lay the yarn on the package in one direction oftraverse and at both reversals; and

FIGURE 3 is a development of the rearmost and upper traversing roller ofFIGURE 1, the groove in which serves to lay the yarn on the packagebetween reversals in the opposite direction of traverse.

FIGURES 4 and 5 are developments of preferred forms of the front andrearmost traversing rollers respectively.

In FIGURE 1, yarn package 1 is mounted on a cylindrical container 1 of 4/2 inches in diameter secured to a freely rotatable shaft 3 mounted on aswinging arm 4. It is spring urged against a drive roll 5 so as to be indriving contact therewith, the swinging arm 4 permitting the outwardmovement of the yarn package 1 as its diameter increases owing to yarnbeing wound on. Grooved front and rear traversing rollers 6 and 7 eachbeing 2 /2 inches in diameter having peripheral grooves 10 and 11 aremounted on parallel shafts 8 and 9 which are geared together such thatthe rollers revolve in opposite directions. A and A show the paths theyarn takes as it is being traversed by rolls 6 and 7 respectively, ineach instance the yarn being laid on the drive roll 5 before being woundonto the yarn package 1.

In FIGURE 2 there is shown a development of the front traversing roller6 containing a deep groove 10, deep and 0.125" wide which extends almostacross the full length of the roller in the form of a right hand helixhaving a pitch of 1.25 inches. The end portions 12 and 13 of the groove10 turn back for a short distance to start a left hand helix having thesame pitch as the right hand helix. The length of the said end portions12 and 13 are such that they each subtend an angle of at the centre ofthe roll.

In FIGURE 3 there is shown a development of the rear traversing roller 7containing a shallow groove 11, 0.125" deep and 0.125" wide whichextends across the full length of the roller in the form of a right handhelix having the same pitch as groove 10 in the roller 6.

Referring again to FIGURE 1, the rollers 6 and 7 are spaced a smalldistance apart and near to the yarn package driving roll as possible,their position relative to each other being so arranged that when theyarn is traversed by the deep groove in roller 6, path A, it is incontact with that roller only but when it is traversed by the shallowgroove in roller 7, path A, it is also in contact with the peripheralsurface of roll 6, around which it describes an are before being laidinitially on the drive roll 5 and thence offset or printed directly ontothe package 1.

Thus in operation therefore, yarn to be wound onto cylindrical container2, 'which is driven by the drive roll 5, is passed between thecontra-rotating rollers 6 and 7 and is taken up by groove 10 of roller 6and thus follows path A. Groove 10 then causes the yarn to be traversedacross the package via the drive roll 5. When reaching the turned backportion 12 of groove 10 the direction of traverse of the yarn isreversed and after a short distance it runs out of the groove onto theperipheral surface of roll 6. The yarn is immediately deflected by theperipheral surface of roll 6 into the groove 11 of roll 7 to follow pathA which continues to traverse the yarn in the reversed direction. Onapproaching the end of the traverse caused by roll 7 the yarn slips intothe turned back portion 13 of groove 10 to take up the preferred path Aagain. The portion 13 of groove 10 completes the traverse of the yarnacross the package in the reversed direction and then reverses thedirection of traverse back to the original direction. The above processis then repeated until the yarn package is full.

Thus the yarn is traversed in one direction across the package by thegroove of roll 6, which also reverses the direction of traverse at bothends and is traversed in the other direction between reversals by thegroove in roll 7.

In the most preferred embodiment of the apparatus, the traversingrollers 6 and 7 are replaced by rollers and 21, developments of whichare shown in FIGURES 4 and 5 respectively.

In FIGURE 4 the front traversing roller 20 contains a groove 22 which is0.3125" deep and 0.020" wide extending across the roller in the form ofa right hand helix having a pitch of 1.25. The end portions 23 and 24 ofthe groove 22 turn back for a short distance in the manner of roll 6described in FIGURE 2. The tip 25 of the end portion 23 of groove 22with which the yarn first makes contact on being transferred from therear roller, is expanded to provide a lead into the groove for the yarn.

In FIGURE 5 the rear traversing roller 21 contains a groove 26 which is0.125" deep and 0.125 wide extending across all but an end portion 27 ofthe roller in the form of a right hand helix. The end portion 27 ismachined down to a depth of 0.125", i.e. the depth of the groove 26 andthe end portion 25 of the groove where it joins the end portion 27 ofthe roller is expanded slightly to form a lead for the yarn.

The width of the end portion 27 is controlled by the length of theturned back portion 24 of groove 22 in roll 20, it should be wide enoughto just catch the yarn as it is released from the said turned-backportion of the roll 20.

The rolls are employed in the same manner as de scribed with referenceto FIGURE 1. The narrower groove 22 in roll 20 improves the reversal ofthe yarn traverse and allows the yarn to move readily to pass over itwhen being traversed by the other roller, reducing still further thetendency of the yarn to drop in to groove 20 when being so traversed.The provision of the lead in portions to the grooves and of the machinedportion of roll 21 gives an improved transfer of yarn from one roll tothe other. As a result of these improvements faster yarn winding speedsmay be obtained with this preferred embodiment.

It is clear that in the foregoing embodiments of this invention, therelative speeds of the traversing rolls should be adjusted to give aneven density of yarn across the package.

What I claim is:

1. A method for winding yarn onto a driven yarn package comprising thesteps of: taking a yarn from a supply and passing the yarn between firstand second traversing rolls which are spaced from one another and fromthe yarn package, each of said rolls having a groove in its peripheralsurface for guiding the yarn for winding along said yarn package, layingthe yarn on the yarn package in a first traversing direction and at bothreversals of traversing directions by a contact of the yarn in a guidinggroove of only the first traversing roll while maintaining the yarncompletely out of contact with the second traversing roll, shifting theyarn to a groove in the second traversing roll when said first directionof traverse is completed, and laying the yarn on the yarn package in anopposite traversing direction by a contact of the yarn in the guidinggroove of the second traversing roll and with a peripheral surface ofthe first traversing roll, whereby frictional contact of the yarn withsaid traversing rolls is substantially reduced for a more rapid windingof the yarn on a package.

2. The method of claim 1 and including the step of laying said yarn ontoa surface of a driving roll for the v yarn package prior to winding saidyarn onto the yarn package and placing said yarn onto the yarn packageby a direct contact of the driving roll surface with the yarn package.

3. Apparatus for winding a yarn onto a yarn package comprising:

first and second traversing rolls spaced from one another and driven torotate in opposite directions to one another for traversing a yarn whichextends from a supply in a path passing between said traversing rollsfor delivery to a yarn package, said first traversing roll having asingle main helical groove of a con stant pitch in its peripheralsurface with the ends of said main helical groove being turned back toform beginning and end portions of a helical groove having a pitch inthe opposite sense of the main helical groove but with said end portionsnot intersecting said main helical groove, said main helical groove ofsaid first traversing roll functioning to traverse said yarn in a firstdirection relative to a yarn package while maintaining said yarn out ofcontact with the second traversing roll, and said second traversing rollhaving in its peripheral surface a single helical groove in the samesense and pitch as the main helical groove of the first traversing roll,said helical groove of said second traversing roll functioning totraverse said yarn in a direction opposite to the traversing directionof said first traversing roll, and

a yarn package spaced from said first and second traversing rolls forreceiving the yarn being moved between said traversing rolls, said yarnpackage being driven by a driving roll which is spaced from the firstand second traversing rolls and interposed between said traversing rollsand said yarn package for driving the yarn package by frictional contactthere-- with, said driving roll further being positioned to present ayarn engaging surface which biases the yarn being moved between saidfirst and second traversing rolls and which maintains the yarn in a pathwhich is out of contact with said second traversing roll during saidfirst traversing direction and which maintains said yarn within thehelical groove of the second roll and in contact with the surface onlyof said first traversing roll during said second traversing direction,whereby frictional contact of the yarn with the traversing rolls issubstantially reduced for a more rapid winding of the yarn onto the yarnpackage.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the helical groove in said firsttraversing roll is deeper than the helical groove in the secondtraversing roll, said helical groove of the first traversing rollthereby defining a path of movement for said yarn which maintains theyarn out of contact with the second traversing roll while it is beingtraversed in said first direction by said helical groove of the firsttraversing roll.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,419,003 4/1947Bateman 24243 3,092,339 6/1963 Hill et al. 242-18 FOREIGN PATENTS891,517 9/1953 Germany.

STANLEY N. GILREATH, Primary Examiner.

1. A METHOD FOR WINDING YARN ONTO A DRIVEN YARN PACKAGE COMPRISING THESTEPS OF: TAKING A YARN FROM A SUPPLY AND PASSING THE YARN BETWEEN FIRSTONE SECOND TRAVERSING ROLLS WHICH ARE SPACED FROM ONE ANOTHER AND FROMTHE YARN PACKAGE, EACH OF SAID ROLLS HAVING A GROOVE IN ITS PERIPHERALSURFACE FOR GUIDING THE YARN FOR WINDING ALONG SAID YARN PACKAGE, LAYINGTHE YARN ON THE YARN PACKAGE IN A FIRST TRAVERSING DIRECTION AND AT BOTHREVERSALS OF TRAVERSING DIRECTIONS BY A CONTACT OF THE YARN IN A GUIDINGGROOVE OF ONLY THE FIRST TRAVERSING ROLL WHILE MAINTAINING THE YARNCOMPLETELY OUT OF CONTACT WITH THE SECOND